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As respect for massage therapy grows in both the general and medical communities, practitioners are distancing themselves from old stigmas and looking to the future. Whilst underqualified therapists and lack of science to back up the benefits of massage may be considered to be a problem, Greg Morling, the president of the Association of Massage Therapists, is determined to ensure massage therapists are taken seriously.
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“My vision is that massage will become a profession rather than just a bunch of techniques, particularly now we have a training package which is a basis for our international standard”, he said. “I think we should look at research to give us sound evidence to verify the work that we do and how useful and beneficial it can be in health care.”
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Proving the value of massage through controlled placebo trials might be difficult, but few who have experienced it need to be convinced of its benefits. The healing power of touch is well known.
“Massage has been used since people had hands,” says Marc Cohen, professor of complementary medicine at Melbourne’s RMIT University. “There’s an instinct to grab and hold and rub if you hurt yourself.”
Today, even doctors are embracing massage. A recent survey of 2000 Australian general practitioners found massage was one of the two most accepted complementary therapies.
There are two types of massage; biomechanical, which focuses on problems such as sports injuries, and biopsychosocial, which involves the mind/body connection and the value of touch.
Cohen says the latter can improve the quality of life and ease back pain. It can also help cancer sufferers.
“Anything that can help you relax and reduce stress will allow the body to heal itself,” he says.
“Your body can then address its own repair needs. People with severe back pain or cancer have a lot of stress generally. Massage gives them important time when the healing power of nature can take its course.”
Targeting specific areas helps fix imbalances and unlock emotions, Cohen says “Emotions are held in parts of the body and massage helps access those emotions and release them.”
However, hospitals are unlikely to embrace massage until there is more concrete evidence of its health benefits. Morling is pushing for psychological rather than biomechanical research.
“I think we should look at research to give us sound evidence to verify the work that we do and how useful and beneficial it can be in health care,” he says. “I’m hoping in the future Australia can take a leading role.”
Morling admits the industry is held back by under-qualified therapists who graduate from a two or three-week course.
“I think the most important issue is going to be a standardised educational level,” he says.
Graduates from short courses struggle to get credible insurance and can’t join an association. Cohen suggests checking credentials, seeking referrals and looking at how popular they are – the best often have waiting lists.
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